I think we need to raise taxes so these folks can get a raise. Don't forget their pensions haven't been improved for quite a while. I work in the private sector and have not had a raise in five years now, pensions went out years ago replaced with a 401k.

This is disgusting! Perhaps we should cut salaries of these people and apply the cuts to the education of our children. PSD in a deficit? Gee, I wonder why! I see they are all well compensated, but our children suffer as we continually cut programs. What is wrong with this picture?!

Shannon - Harper's salary is wrong. His true compensation was $313,588 in 2009. That includes the $10,000 in unused vacation time.
You need to FOIA the checks issued to him by the district for unused vacation time to get his true compensation for fiscal last year. For this year, you have to wait until June to get his true compensation. By the time he retires in June 2014, he will be making 342,000. The district does not post unused vacation time and doesn't have to because in October he has not cashed in any of that time. But for the readers, you can find out what he cashed in last year and get his true compensation. Good luck!

Harper can be paid for 20 unused vacation days in the last three years of his contract. In total, Harper is expected to received about $91,938 for unused vaction days in his last five years with the district. Bottom line: His total expected earnings for 2012-13 is $330,344 and $342,675 for 2013-14.

He can retire and collect his pension and still work in another school district.

I don't see a problem with administrators salaries. Dr. Harper, is most likely underpaid. He has been with the district for a long time (I know a lot of my friends me included had him as a middle school teacher) and if he was with a company in the private sector for the same length of time with a Doctorate degree, and worked his way up to CEO he would probably be making millions. As for unused vacation days, exactly UNUSED, most state and fed employees get this as well.
I don't agree with a lot of cuts in the classroom level, I also don't agree with teaching kids in a second language when it is not an option for my child to learn a second language at school, etc. etc.
What I do know us my child attends Plainfield Schools, what she doesn't learn there we teach her at home. You pay very little for your child to attend public school, compare the cost to private schools in the area. If you don't want to contribute to your administrators salary or teachers salary, Move.

These folks don't have the same 10 month contract that teachers do. Most, if not all of them, have 12 month contracts. some guy has the correct perspective on the situation.

"Some Guy" is absolutely correct! The salaries listed above are certainly not out of line with neighboring school districts, in fact, many of the salaries are lower by comparison, especially with a school district of this size and growth! These administrators have spent huge amounts of personal time and money educating themselves with Master's Degrees and Doctorates in the field of education, so they can be the best and the brightest in order to guide their teaching staff. Plainfield School District 202 is excellent, and many of us live here because of District 202's reputation. High-performing schools do not just happen...it takes a great deal of concerted effort and commitment from the Administration and teaching staff. They earn their pay! The administrators listed, work 12 months a year, not ten months. It is a seven day a week job, not five, and certainly does not end at 4pm! I often see office lights on at 9 or 10pm at night in the Admin. building and schools! They do get some vacation time, which in Mr. Harper's case and most others, was rarely used because, I suspect, there's so much work to do. It is wonderful to see people dedicating their entire lives and careers to their students and community! Make no mistake, all of these people could go north on Rt. 59, and make far more money, but chose to stay for less pay! Bravo! Keep up the good work of educating our children!

These are hard working people who deserve what they are paid. One of the biggest issues America faces is the lack of reform in our education system without changes-- and great people-- who are employed and paid like CEOS-- we have a bleak future generation. Teachers/ administrators/ educators need to be paid more across the board as we need to keep good people to elevate our education system. Paying them less is an ignorant thing to say. We need to attract TALENT and the best and the brightest to encourage education and eduction reform. Kudos to all of them!

First of all, I question the purpose of this article; to inform, or inflame? Secondly, take a look at salaries and benefits of upper level admins in neighboring districts and you'll discover that 202 salaries are on the lower end. Remember, this is a district of 30,000 students and a few thousand employees. It takes talented, hard-working and well-educated professionals to lead this district, and they need to be compensated.

It's very true that Dr. Harper doesn't take vacation. That's why to a 5-2 board vote, the board agreed on a contract that gave him these hidden bonuses by giving him additional vacation days that were meant to be cashed in at the end of the fiscal year while touting he was freezing his salary for one year. Bottom line: His base pay remained low but his true compensation pushed him in the top 20 of the highest paying superintendents in the state.
If you agree that he deserves this pay - good for you. But do you as a taxpayer deserved to be deceived on the true amount?

I believe Dr. Harper should be compensated for the additional unused vacation days set aside for him because he didn't take vacation in his earlier years as superintendent.
I'm just asking for the district to be more upfront and honest. I am uncomfortable with the fact that the district doesn't update its compensation chart in June to show Harper's true salary. The district isn't required to update Harper's salary when the district writes him a big check in June for unused vacation so they don't. They know that the information on their website about his compensation is wrong and misleading. In the last three years of his contract, he can be paid for 20 unused vacation days - that's more than $20,000 - because he makes more than $1,000 a day.
It would be nice if the school board was upfront and honest with how much he is making instead of misleading the taxpayers. They could ask district staff to update the numbers when Harper gets paid for his unused vacation days so taxpayers know what he received in pay and benefits.

For the person who mentioned teacher's holidays and vacations.... we are not paid on those days... we only get paid for the approx 180 days we work....all holidays and winter breaks, spring breaks, etc are unpaid.....

I think we should be more concerned with the Federally regulated and mandatory Common Core Curriculum that is going to cost our district a huge expense to impliment. If you are not familiar with the new Common Core Curriculum, please do so.